---
title: "Ford GT40-Based ‘Supervan’ Was a Terrifying 435-HP Transit"
description: "The underpinnings of a Le Mans-winning race car made the Ford Transit Supervan absolutely ferocious."
date: "2021-10-17"
modified: "2021-10-17"
authors:
  - name: "James Gilboy"
    job_title: "Contributing Writer"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/james-gilboy"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/42752/ford-gt40-based-supervan-was-a-terrifying-435-hp-transit"
categories:
  - "Ford News"
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
tags:
  - "Ford"
  - "GT"
  - "Supercar"
---

# Ford GT40-Based ‘Supervan’ Was a Terrifying 435-HP Transit

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2021/10/16228927_1238825382863519_2243836914253692928_n.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

"Sleeper van" is a phrase that, to some, evokes living down by the river in four-wheeled, mobile accommodations. To others, however, it means [a humdrum-looking vehicle hiding an absurdly powerful engine](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/42678/old-aussie-work-van-gets-1100-hp-barra-motor-and-seating-for-7>). Or better yet, a whole dang Ford GT40 race car chassis and drivetrain, as was the case with the Ford Supervan.

Much of what we know about the Supervan comes from a single period promo film, which outlines the Supervan as originating from Terry Drury Racing; a GT40 privateer team according to [Bonhams](<https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/25450/lot/97/>). Underneath a simple Transit body lay the spaceframe of the famed, if by then outmoded [GT40](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/41554/theres-an-electric-ford-gt40-replica-in-development>), along with its brakes and feral-sounding 5.0-liter, Gurney-Weslake V8.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQGrcEsj851

This tuned Ford five-oh was said to produce 435 horsepower, which traveled through a five-speed manual to the rear axle, propelling the Supervan from zero to 60 in a then-quick 7.0 seconds. According to a [Goodwood](<https://www.goodwood.com/grr/race/historic/2020/5/video-the-original-v8-ford-supervan-was-a-gt40-wearing-plumbers-overalls/>) blog post, the standing quarter-mile took a whole 14.5 seconds, while zero to 100 took 14.6. [Ford](<https://media.ford.com/content/dam/fordmedia/Europe/gb/2015/07/Transit%2050%20Wonderful%20Facts%204.pdf>) registers its top speed as being 149 mph—though one can't imagine the second [most brick-shaped vehicle ever built](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/41769/italys-expanding-minozio-vans-are-styled-after-bricks>) was particularly stable at those speeds.

https://youtube.com/embed/qg6WdboK1nY

Ford debuted the Supervan in April 1971 at Brands Hatch, where it is rumored to have set the track's lap record for a vehicle towing a camper according to one [Facebook](<https://www.facebook.com/TerryDruryRacing/posts/1558058311072120>) commenter. It's not a prominent record, nor one easy to corroborate. The Supervan definitely left a legacy, which would be succeeded by a Group C prototype-based Supervan 2, which set a 170-mph camper towing speed record—and later on, a Formula 3000-powered Supervan 3. Maybe with Ford leaning hard into EVs and launching an [E-Transit](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/37577/the-2022-ford-e-transit-is-an-all-electric-cargo-van-workhorse-starting-at-less-than-45000>), the time may be ripe for a Supervan 4.

What say we about a Mach-E-Transit, folks?

https://youtube.com/embed/rJyMqByOfIM

*Got a tip or question for the author? You can reach them here: james@thedrive.com*

## Author
James is a former staff writer for The Drive. He has changed the conversation around electrification, debunked misinformation online, and become a prominent hunter of what he calls "automotive cryptids."

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/jamesgilboy>)